Italy Slaps €98m Fine on Apple Over App Store Privacy Rules

Italy’s competition watchdog has fined Apple nearly €100 million after concluding that the company abused its dominant position in the mobile app ecosystem by imposing restrictive privacy rules on third-party developers.

The Italian Competition Authority, known as AGCM, said on Monday that Apple’s conduct within its App Store violated competition principles in a market where the company enjoys what regulators described as a “super-dominant” position. The fine, amounting to €98 million, follows an investigation into how Apple applies its privacy framework to apps distributed on its platform.

According to the authority, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) system places disproportionate limits on external developers while allowing the company to maintain strategic advantages over competitors operating in the digital advertising space.

How Apple’s Privacy Rules Triggered the Penalty

In a statement, the AGCM said its probe revealed that the privacy obligations introduced by Apple were imposed unilaterally and created an uneven playing field for developers who rely on data tracking to sustain advertising-driven business models.

Under ATT, apps must request explicit permission from users before tracking their activity across other apps and websites. If users decline, developers lose access to valuable data used for personalised advertising and performance measurement. Regulators argue that while the policy is framed as a privacy safeguard, its implementation disproportionately harms Apple’s commercial partners.

The authority added that Apple’s rules limit developers’ ability to compete fairly, particularly in mobile advertising, while Apple continues to expand its own advertising services within the same ecosystem.

The Italian decision aligns with growing scrutiny across Europe over the real impact of Apple’s privacy architecture. Earlier this year, French antitrust regulators fined Apple €150 million over similar concerns tied to the ATT feature. Authorities in other European countries have also launched investigations examining whether the system undermines competition under the guise of consumer protection.

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Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency in 2021, positioning it as a major step toward giving users more control over their data. However, critics, including developers and rival ad platforms, have accused the company of using privacy as a strategic lever to consolidate power within its tightly controlled App Store environment.

While Apple has consistently defended ATT as essential for user privacy, the Italian ruling adds to mounting regulatory pressure on the company as governments across Europe seek to rein in the influence of dominant digital platforms.

The company has not yet publicly responded to the Italian authority’s decision or indicated whether it plans to appeal the fine.